Advice for clients

Access Ecology employ highly experienced, licenced ecologists who have developed good relationships with local coulcils. Access Ecology carry out bat surveys and mitigation using the latest equipment across the UK.

Testimonials

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Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

“Both surveys have been undertaken by Access Ecology using methodologies that accord with best practice guidance resulting in the production of reports of high professional standards. The comprehensive nature of the survey work has provided a robust assessment of the nature conservation value of the site”.

Householder

We had a problem with a family of badgers in our garden. They made a sett, and were digging a great deal. As the sett was next to a high wall, we were worried about serious damage, and also the safety implications. Access Ecology did a really great job for us. They managed the whole operation, including directing and working with contractors. The badgers were excluded, then the sett destroyed and secured to prevent the badgers getting in again. It was completely successful and carried out in an extremely professional way. It was also reassuring to know that the badgers, as a protected species, were protected and dealt with in accordance with legislation. The badgers returned safely to their main sett, and we got our garden back! It was such a relief to hand over the problem to people who knew exactly what to do, and I would definitely recommend Access Ecology.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Access Ecology submitted a very competitive and comprehensive quote, we were also most impressed with the flexibility and patience that they showed while we juggled end of year budgets to get the contract into place.

Access Ecology did all the survey work we asked for on time and were very thorough, finding water voles on site which we were unaware of at the time. They liaised closely with local interest groups on our behalf and we received nothing but praise for the level of communication with these groups. Access Ecology with support from the County Councils Ranger Service also held 2 community meetings on our behalf both of which proved to be very successful.

Once the Survey and field work was complete an initial draft was produced in a very timely fashion giving us plenty of opportunity to pass comments and make amendments, Access Ecology were very prompt with the revisions and as a result the final document was handed over to the County Council on the 24th March 2015 enabling us to complete the payments within budget and in time for the end of the financial year.

In general we found Access Ecology to be really efficient with friendly knowledgeable staff, they were quick to respond to enquiries and once the contract was let needed very little support from the County Council. We would definitely be more than happy to recommend Access Ecology and use them again in the future.

I would just like to finally say what a pleasure it was to work with Belinda who was both very knowledgeable and extremely efficient.

Capita

The first survey targeted actively used buildings on site, over 200 in total, with the aim of determining presence/absence for all buildings a swell as a site species inventory and the identification of key activity areas across site. These surveys involved a large team of surveyors, carrying out nocturnal surveys (dusk, dawn and transect), supplemented by static recording at key points across the site. The data collected was used to inform the EIA for the site, and would, if works had gone ahead, provided the basis for mitigation needed in response to the loss of known roost sites.

The second project targeted over 30 disused Second World War personnel bunkers, scattered across the RAF base and in the surrounding countryside. An innovative approach utilising Anabat remote recording bat detectors was adopted, with each bunker being surveyed for a week at both the beginning and the end of the hibernation period, to ascertain if bats were using the sites as hibernation roosts.

Anabats were chosen as access to many of the bunkers was not possible due to concerns over surveyor safety, with many bunkers unopened for many years. Anabats could be positioned in such a way as to target openings in the bunker with the aim of recording any bats which may be active in and around the immediate vicinity.

Both surveys were completed on time and to the high standard that CAPITA expects, although ultimately the data remains unused due the suspension of the overall scheme.